Theses 2004

TITLE: Computer interfaces using vision-based gesture recognition

Year:	2004
Country:	Thesis: Canada
Degree:	M.Sc.
Institution:	University of Calgary
Department:	Department of Computer Science
URL:	http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk4/etd/MQ97632.PDF

Abstract: The primary objective of this thesis is to obtain information from a non-instrumented hand–including precise points of contact between the real hand and the virtual environment, and the recognition of meaningful hand postures–so that they can be used to replace standard input devices. Two different methods are presented in this thesis, ERSolitaire and finger classification, which recognize hand postures for use in a natural interface. ERSolitaire provides a grab-move-release interface to the standard game of solitaire, which allows the user to interact with virtual cards in a similar fashion as they would with real cards. The finger classification system provides a virtual touch interface by individually recognizing each of the five fingers. This provides greater power and flexibility than other similar systems, as well as introducing a new technique for hand posture recognition.

TITLE: What Educators Can Learn from Multiplayer Computer Gaming: a study of who is playing and their perceptions of learning.

Year:	2004
Country:	Thesis: USA
Degree:	PhD.
Institution:	University of Alabama
Department:	Instructional Leadership Program
URL:

TITLE: Cheat controlled synchronization schemes for online multiplayer games

Year:	2004
Country:	Thesis: Canada
Degree:	M.Sc.
Institution:	McGill University
Department:	School of Computer Science
URL:	http://worldcat.org/oclc/61739759

Abstract: One of the key issues with online multiplayer games is game play fairness. In both centralized and decentralized architectures the ordering of command messages from clients for execution is an important issue that impacts fairness and response time of game play. Recently, a fair-ordered message exchange protocol (FMEP), based on “reaction” times was proposed to order command messages for a client-server model. This thesis presents a cheat controlled protocol (CCP) that can be used to control cheating in the FMEP. We examined the performance of the CCP by emulating wide-area game play scenarios on the Planet-Lab. The results from the experiments indicate that the CCP is able to dramatically reduce the cheating opportunities that exist for clients. On the other hand, for the decentralized (distributed) model, one approach is to follow a “lock step” scheme that prevents any client from acting upon a message until that message is received by all clients. In this thesis, we present a fair synchronization protocol (FSP) that enforces fairness and is more efficient than the lock-step scheme. The basic FSP is susceptible to cheating. Therefore, we added a cheat prevention mechanism as an enhancement. We implemented the enhanced protocol, the Cheat Proof Protocol (CPP), on the Planet-Lab and studied the performance under the same game play scenarios used for the CCP. The results indicate that the CPP is effective in enforcing fairness and cheat prevention.

TITLE: Learning in games : an experimental analysis of how learning takes place in games with stable and unstable Nash equilibria

Year:	2004
Country:	Thesis: Canada
Degree:	M.A.
Institution:	University of Calgary
Department:	Economics
URL:	http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk4/etd/MQ93315.PDF

Abstract: Cournot's theory of best reply has been widely accepted as the most likely method a rational player will employ in a game where one's payoffs are dependent on their own strategy as well as their opponent's. This paper tests this theory, among others, in the context of an extremely limited information environment that contains eighteen two-player experimental environments. All participants face a sufficiently complicated and symmetric profit function. Derived best response functions contain both linear and non-linear components, yielding three Nash equilibria: two stable, one unstable. I find that less than half of all subjects play the Pareto optimal Nash equilibria, and about five percent play the unstable Nash equilibrium. Two tests of convergence are proposed: one focusing on the level of the individual, and the other at the level of the group; both proving to be weak. By performing ordinary least squares regression analysis, I find that aggregate path of play is best described by a combination of imitating one's opponent, and inertia–playing the same strategy in the current period as the prior. Furthermore by expanding analysis to the level of the individual, I find that there is significant heterogeneity in learning rules utilised among individuals, with most individuals employing less rational theories of learning.

TITLE: Fantasy Play-Worlds: A Study Of Culture, Communication And Technology As They Intersect In Computer Fantasy Roleplaying Games

Year:	2004
Country:	Thesis: USA	Candidate: Canada
Degree:	Ph.D.
Institution:	The University of Iowa
Department:	Communication Studies
URL:	Thesis

Abstract: This dissertation uses the computer Fantasy role-playing game as a site to investigate the intersection of technology and culture and how these forces shape communication. Drawing on the ideas of Medium Theory (or Media Ecology) and the Social Construction of Technology, I conceptualize media as meeting or mediating points for social forces, mediating points that shape and are shaped by communication. I use a series of licensed Dungeons and Dragons computer games to investigate this process.

I approach the games from three angles: first, I consider how this genre of computer games helps mediate the pressures that the game-making industry feels. Specifically, I talk about economic, technological, political and cultural demands that game-makers face. I argue that a series of features in digital Fantasy role-playing games, such as its well-established genre and serial narratives, make them particularly successful at mediating many demands placed on the industry. Next, I talk about how digital Fantasy role-playing games help us to negotiate the traditional forms of stories and games. Recent work in Game Studies argues that games are not interactive stories. Although I give credence to these ideas, I argue that the digital Fantasy role-playing game provides an environment that modifies what we understand as story and game. Stories become systematic, participatory and immediate, while games become story-driven.

Finally, I talk about how these games help men to mediate the pressures of masculinity that they experience in every day life. Drawing on research that suggests men have great difficulty reconciling the internal contradictions of masculine ideals, I argue that the digital Fantasy role-playing game provides a space in which men can be respectable, rough and playful all at once. In each case, I argue that social, cultural and technological construction of this new medium provides unique opportunities and limitations for communication, which in turn shapes our culture. This is not an argument of technological determinism, but a recognition that communication has a material component that matters: computers change the communicative environment in which we play, and in so doing, offer the possibility of cultural transformation.

TITLE: Informatization of a nation : a case study of South Korea's computer gaming and PC-Bang culture

Year:	2004
Country:	Thesis: Canada
Degree:	M.A.
Institution:	Simon Fraser University
Department:	School of Communication
URL:	http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/9940

Abstract: In an attempt to prepare its public for the computer age and stimulate the information economy, the Korean government has encouraged mass, inexpensive Internet access. Governmental programs have targeted equalization of access and computer enhanced training through policies supporting development of the gaming industry. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of these public initiatives on students' patterns of new media use at home and at the PC-Bang. The research involved participatory observations at 30 PC-Bangs, numerous interviews as well as media audits administered to 1467 school-aged students, 870 university students and 617 mothers of grade four students. The success of these policies is evidenced in the fact that 77% have access to network media, predominately (80%) broadband access. However, there is little evidence that Korean youth use this technology for educational purposes. The study further suggested that the Korean youth favoured new media as an entertainment source spending the most time playing game, chatting and emailing online. The media audit results also revealed a classic gender divide in media use patterns; male students preferred to play games, especially at the PC-Bangs, while female students tended to use computers at home for non-gaming activities such as chatting and emailing. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)